Tax-exempt sale document creating system, tax-exempt sale document creating apparatus, and tax-exempt sale document creating method

ABSTRACT

A tax-exempt sale document creating system includes a device memory configured to store at least one program; and at least one processor configured to execute the at least one program to execute creation processing. The creation processing includes: obtaining an image of a passport or a qualification document and an image of a receipt printed when one or more commodities are purchased; storing the image of the passport or the qualification document and the image of the receipt and classifying the image of the passport or the qualification document and the image of the receipt; printing, on a passport area of one or more documents for tax-exempt sale, the image of the passport or the qualification document; and printing, on a receipt area of the documents, the image of the receipt on which image processing is performed to fit the image of the receipt in the receipt area.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C.§119 of Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-220711 filed on Nov. 10,2015, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The disclosures herein generally relate to a tax-exempt sale documentcreating system, a tax-exempt sale document creating apparatus, and atax-exempt sale document creating method.

2. Description of the Related Art

A system for printing documents for tax-exempt sale is known in therelated art. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2014-32441 discloses a system that reads a two-dimensional codedisplayed on a landing card attached to a passport and prints “Record ofPurchase of Consumption Tax-Exempt for Export” and “Covenant ofPurchaser”.

One or more receipts may be used for the documents for tax-exempt sale.It is desired to reduce workloads and/or human errors when the documentsfor the tax-exempt sale are created.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a general object of at least one embodiment of the presentdisclosure to provide a tax-exempt sale document creating system, atax-exempt sale document creating apparatus, and a tax-exempt saledocument creating method that substantially obviate one or more problemscaused by the limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided atax-exempt sale document creating system including a device memoryconfigured to store at least one program; and at least one processorconfigured to execute the at least one program to execute creationprocessing. The creation processing includes obtaining an image of apassport or a qualification document that indicates a qualification forentering a country, and an image of a receipt printed when one or morecommodities are purchased; storing the image of the passport or thequalification document and the image of the receipt and classifying theimage of the passport or the qualification document and the image of thereceipt; printing, on a passport area of one or more documents fortax-exempt sale, the image of the passport or the qualificationdocument; and printing, on a receipt area of the one or more documentsfor the tax-exempt sale, the image of the receipt on which imageprocessing is performed so as to fit the image of the receipt in thereceipt area.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a systemconfiguration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of a POS register;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of an MFP;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of a tablet;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of a management server;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a softwareconfiguration of the POS register;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a softwareconfiguration of the MFP and the tablet;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a softwareconfiguration of the management server;

FIG. 9 is a sequence chart illustrating an example of processingaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of obtaining an image of apassport and images of receipts (part 1);

FIGS. 11A to 11C are diagrams illustrating an example of obtaining theimage of the passport and the images of the receipts (part 2);

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of recognizing outlines ofthe image of the passport and the images of the receipts;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of storing the image of thepassport and the images of the receipts;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing fordividing/reducing the image of the receipt;

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of dividing the image ofthe receipt;

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of reducing the image ofthe receipt;

FIGS. 17A to 17D are diagrams illustrating examples of a screen forinputting and revising data;

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of an advertisementinformation storage unit;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing of a caseof inserting an advertisement in a vacant space;

FIG. 20 is an example of a table in which the number of printing itemsis associated with a size of a sheet and whether to print theadvertisement;

FIGS. 21A and 21B are diagrams illustrating examples of a print previewimage;

FIGS. 22A and 22B are diagrams illustrating examples of arrangement ofdocuments on a sheet;

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of a record of purchase;

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating an example of a covenant of apurchaser;

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating an example of a list of consumablecommodities;

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating an example of the MFP including aplurality of sheet feeding cassettes in which sheets having differentsizes and different perforations are set;

FIG. 27 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing forselecting a sheet feeding cassette based on a layout of documents;

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating other examples of the record ofpurchase and the covenant of the purchaser; and

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating an example of a note of cautionprinted on a back surface.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following, an embodiment of the present disclosure will bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. An object of theembodiment is to effectively support work of creating one or moredocuments for tax-exempt sale.

<Configuration>

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a systemconfiguration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, in a store 1, a POS register 2, a MFP(Multi-Function Peripheral, Multi-Function Printer) 3, and a tablet(tablet type terminal) 4 are disposed. It should be noted that two ormore POS registers 2, two or more MFPs 3, and two or more tablets 4 maybe disposed. Depending on a scale (size) of the store 1, the tablet 4may be omitted. For example, in a case in which business operation canbe performed sufficiently by the POS (point of sales) register 2 and theMFP 3, the tablet 4 may be omitted. Further, in a case in which thebusiness operation can be performed sufficiently by the POS register 2and the tablet 4, the MFP 3 may be omitted. In this case, a printer forprinting documents is required. The MFP 3 and the tablet 4 are connectedin a communicative manner (communicable manner) via a wired or wirelessLAN. The MFP 3 and the tablet 4 may be connected to the POS register 2in a communicative manner wiredly or wirelessly. However, the MFP 3 andthe tablet 4 do not have to be connected to the POS register 2 in thecommunicative manner.

The POS register 2 is an information processing apparatus (computer) forperforming a transaction (accounting process) of commodity purchases.The POS register 2 is an example of an accounting management apparatusthat manages accounting for one or more purchased commodities. Here, thecommodities may be commercial goods, for example. The POS register 2 hasa function to obtain information on one or more commodities that apurchaser purchases, and to calculate a total amount (price) of thecommodities. Further, the POS register 2 has a function to issue(output), to the purchaser, one or more receipts in which names of thepurchase commodities, unit prices, quantities, the total amount and thelike are described. It should be noted that the receipt may be issued(printed) when the commodities are purchased. Further, in the presentsystem, it is not limited to using the POS register 2. One or morestandalone registers may be used.

The MFP 3 is an information processing apparatus having a scannerfunction, a printer function, and an information processing function.The MFP 3 is an example of an image processing apparatus that canexecute input/output processing of an image such as scanning andprinting. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the scannerfunction is used to read the passport of a purchaser or writing (aqualification document equivalent to the passport such as a landingpermit for crew members, an emergency landing permit, and a landingpermit due to distress) of a purchaser that indicates qualification forentering a country and to obtain an image of the passport or an image ofthe writing. Further, the scanner function is used to read thereceipt(s) and obtain an image of the receipt. It should be noted that amethod for reading the image is not limited to the scanner function. Forexample, a camera function to capture (image) the image may be used.

Further, the printer function is used to generate and print images ofdocuments (such as a record of purchase, a covenant of a purchaser, anda list of consumable commodities) necessary for tax-exempt sale andimages of documents for management in the store 1. It should be notedthat the printing is an example of a method for outputting images. Forexample, an image storage unit that stores image data of these documentsmay be provided.

It should be noted that one MFP 3 does not have to both the scannerfunction and the printer function. For example, a scanner apparatus thathas only a scanner function and a printer apparatus that has only aprinter function may be arranged separately. That is, a housing of animage reading apparatus that executes reading of an image such as thescanner function and a housing of an image outputting apparatus thatexecutes outputting of an image such as the printer function may bedifferent or integrated.

The tablet 4 is an information processing apparatus that has a camerafunction and an information processing function. The tablet 4 is anexample of an image obtaining apparatus that obtains an image. Thecamera function is used to image (capture) the passport of the purchaseror the writing of the purchaser, which represents the qualification forentering the country, and to obtain the image of the passport or thewriting. Further, the camera function can be used to image (capture) thereceipt to obtain the image of the receipt. It should be noted that amethod for reading the images is not limited to imaging. For example, ascanner function may be used to the read the images.

Further, the MFP 3 and the tablet 4 are connected to an externalmanagement server 6 via a network 5 such as the Internet. The managementserver 6 has a function to receive and store data uploaded from the MFP3 and the tablet 4 and to update one or more programs and setting dataof the MFP 3 and tablet 4 to the latest states (versions). It should benoted that in a case where external storage of the data and the updateare implemented by another method, the management server 6 may beomitted.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of the POS register 2. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the POSregister 2 includes a controller 2001, an operation display unit 2002, areceipt output unit 2003, a network interface (I/F) 2004, a card I/F2005, a bar code I/F 2006, and a storage medium 2007.

The controller 2001 controls overall operation of the POS register 2.The operation display unit 2002 receives data input by a ten-key and aspecial key and displays the input data, a processing result, a messageand the like. The receipt output unit 2003 issues a receipt by printing.The network I/F 2004 is an interface for connecting the POS register 2to an external device. The card I/F 2005 reads a credit card of apurchaser. The bar code I/F 2006 reads a barcode (such asone-dimensional code and two-dimensional code) attached to a commodity.The storage medium 2007 stores processing results and the like.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of the MFP 3. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the MFP 3 includesa main body unit 3110 and an operation unit 3120. The main body unit3110 can implement various functions including a copying function, ascanner function, a printer function, a document box function, and autility function. The operation unit 3120 receives an operation of auser. The main body unit 3110 and the operation unit 3120 are connectedin a communicative manner via a dedicated communication channel 3130.For example, universal serial bus (USB) standards may be used for thecommunication channel 3130. Further, arbitrary (wired or wireless)standards may be used. It should be noted that the main body unit 3110can act in accordance with an operation received by the operation unit3120. Further, the main body unit 3110 can communicate with an externaldevice such as a client personal computer (PC) and act in accordancewith an instruction received from the external device.

The main body unit 3110 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 3111, aread only memory (ROM) 3112, a random access memory (RAM) 3113, a harddisk drive (HDD) 3114, a communication interface (I/F) 3115, aconnection I/F 3116, and an engine unit 3117. These units (elements) aremutually connected via a system bus 3118.

The CPU 3111 controls overall operation of the main body unit 3110. TheCPU 3111 uses the RAM 3113 as a work area and executes one or moreprograms stored in the ROM 3112, the HDD 3114 or the like to control theoverall operation of the main body 3110. For example, the CPU 3111implements various functions such as the copying function, the scannerfunction, the document box function, and the utility function. Thecommunication I/F unit 3115 is an interface for connecting the main bodyunit 3110 to the network 5. The connection I/F unit 3116 is an interfacefor communicating with the operation unit 3120 via the communicationchannel 3130. The engine unit 3117 is a hardware element forimplementing the copying function, the scanner function, and the printerfunction. The engine unit 3117 executes processing other than versatileinformation processing and communication processing. The engine unit3117 includes, for example, a scanner (image reading unit) that scansand reads an image of a document, and a plotter (image forming unit)that prints an image on a sheet (sheet material) such as a paper.Further, the engine unit 3117 may include a specific option unit such asa finisher unit that sorts printed sheets and an auto document feeder(ADF) that feeds documents automatically.

The operation unit 3120 includes a CPU 3121, a ROM 3122, a RAM 3123, aflash memory 3124, a communication I/F 3125, a connection I/F 3126, anoperation panel 3127, and an external connection I/F 3128. These units(elements) are mutually connected via a system bus 3129. The CPU 3121controls overall operation of the operation unit 3120. The CPU 3121 usesthe RAM 3123 as a work area and executes one or more programs stored inthe ROM 3112, the flash memory 3124 or the like to control the overalloperation of the operation unit 3120. For example, the CPU 3121implements various functions such as displaying of information (image)in accordance with an input received from a user. The communication(I/F) 3125 is an interface for connecting the operation unit 3120 to thenetwork 5. The connection (I/F) 3126 is an interface for communicatingwith the main body unit 3110 via the communication channel 3130. Theoperation panel 3127 receives various kinds of input in accordance withthe user operation, and displays various kinds of information (such asinformation that corresponds to the received operation, information thatrepresents operating status of the MFP 3, and information thatrepresents setting status). Moreover, an operation unit such as ahardware key and a display unit such as a lamp may be provided,additionally or alternatively. The external connection I/F 3128 is aninterface for connecting the operation unit 3120 to a device such as anIC card reader.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of the tablet 4. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the tablet 4includes a power source system 401, a main system 402 and a storage unit406. The main system 402 includes a processor 403, a memory controller404, and a peripheral interface 405. Further, the tablet 4 includes anexternal port 407, a high frequency circuit 408, an antenna 409, anaudio circuit 410, a speaker 411, a microphone 412, a proximity sensor413, and a global positioning system (GPS) circuit 414. Further, thetablet 4 includes an input/output (I/O) subsystem 415 and a touchreactive display system 419, an optical sensor 420, an input unit 421.The I/O subsystem 415 includes a display controller 416, an opticalsensor controller 417, and an input controller 418.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of the management server 6. As illustrated in FIG. 5, themanagement server 6 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 602, a readonly memory (ROM) 603, a random access memory (RAM) 604, a non-volatilerandom access memory (NVRAM) 605. These units (elements) are connectedvia a system bus 601. Further, the management server 6 includes aninterface (I/F) 606, an input/output (I/O) device 607, a hard disk drive(HDD) 608, a network interface card (NIC) 609, a monitor 610, a keyboard611 and a mouse 612. The I/O device 607, the HDD 608, and the NIC 609are connected to the I/F 606. The monitor 610, the keyboard 611, and themouse 612 are connected to the I/O device 607. A Compact Disk/DigitalVersatile Disk (CD/DVD) drive or the like can be connected to the I/Odevice 607.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a softwareconfiguration of the POS register 2. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the POSregister 2 includes a main control unit 201, an operation displaycontrol unit 202, a data input control unit 203, a card R/W control unit204, a communication control unit 205, a storage medium control unit206, a receipt output control unit 207, a tax exemption informationprovision unit 208, and a quarantine information provision unit 209.These elements may be implemented by a CPU of the controller 2001 (FIG.2) executing one or more computer programs. It should be noted that theprograms may be provided by one or more recording media. Further, theprograms may be provided via a network or embedded in the ROM andprovided.

Further, the POS register 2 stores (includes) an articleinformation/article code storage unit 211 and a tax exemption conditionstorage unit 212, a quarantine information storage unit 213, and aprocessed data storage unit 214 as data (information) to bereferred/updated in processing. The article information/article codestorage unit 211 stores information in which article information itemsare associated with one or more respective article codes (commoditycodes). The article information items include, for respectivecommodities, names of the commodities, whether the commodities (orservices) are subject to (eligible for) tax exemption, and whether thecommodities are general commodities (commodities except consumablecommodities) for the tax exemption or consumable commodities for the taxexemption. Here, the general commodities may be general goods such ashome appliances, bags, shoes, watches, accessories, clothing, andartifacts, for example. The consumable commodities may be consumablessuch as cosmetics, food, beverages, liquor, medicines, and tobacco, forexample. The tax exemption condition storage unit 212 stores informationthat represents, for the commodities that are subject to the taxexemption, one or more tax exemption conditions for being subject to thetax exemption in accordance with whether the commodities are the generalcommodities for the tax exemption or the consumable commodities for thetax exemption. For example, in a case in which a total purchase amount(price) of one or more general commodities in a single day at the samestore is equal to or greater than 10,001 (tax excluded) Japanese yen,the general commodities are subject to the tax exemption. In a case inwhich a total purchase amount (price) of one or more consumablecommodities in a single day at the same store is between 5,001 and500,000 (tax excluded) Japanese yen, the consumable commodities aresubject to the tax exemption. The quarantine information storage unit213 includes information on whether quarantine measures are required ina home country to which a purchaser takes one or more commodities(consumable items such as food items) back, information on whether it isprohibited to take back the commodities as hand baggage or to take backthe commodities by courier, and information on substitute commodities(such as other commodities that are subject to the tax exemption). Theprocessed data storage unit 214 stores information on a result(equivalent to information described in a receipt) of adjustmentprocessing.

The main control unit 201 has a function to control overall operation ofthe POS register 2. The operation display control unit 202 has afunction to control displaying in the operation display unit 2002 (FIG.2). The data input control unit 203 has a function to control data inputfrom the operation display unit 2002 and the bar code I/F 2006 (FIG. 2).The card R/W control unit 204 has a function to control data input fromthe card I/F 2005 (FIG. 2). The communication control unit 205 has afunction to control communication by the network I/F 2004 (FIG. 2). Thestorage medium control unit 206 has a function to controlreading/writing of data from/to the storage medium 2007 (FIG. 2). Thereceipt output control unit 207 has a function to control printing of areceipt by the receipt output unit 2003 (FIG. 2).

The tax exemption information provision unit 208 has a function toprovide, with reference to the article information/article code storageunit 211 and the tax exemption condition storage unit 212, informationthat represents that one or more commodities are subject to the taxexemption depending on a purchase amount. The quarantine informationprovision unit 209 has a function to provide, with reference to thequarantine information storage unit 213, quarantine information (whetherquarantine measures are required, whether it is prohibited to take backthe commodity as hand baggage or to take back the commodity by courier,and substitute commodities) depending on a purchase commodity and a homecountry to which a purchaser takes the commodity back.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a softwareconfiguration of the MFP 3 and the tablet 4. As illustrated in FIG. 7,the MFP 3 and the tablet 4 include a main control unit 301 an imageobtaining unit 302, an area/character recognition unit 303, a receiptimage dividing/reducing unit 304, an authenticity determining unit 305,a data input/revision unit 306, and a tax exemption object determinationunit 307. Further, the MFP 3 and the tablet 4 include a quarantineinformation provision unit 308, a document creation unit 309, anadvertisement creation unit 310, a print processing unit 311, a datastorage unit 312, a closing processing unit 313, a data uploading unit314, an updating unit 315. These elements may be implemented by the CPU3121, 3111 (FIG. 3) or the processor 403 (FIG. 4) executing one or morecomputer programs. It should be noted that the programs may be providedby one or more recording media. Further, the programs may be providedvia a network or embedded in the ROM and provided.

Further, the MFP 3 and the tablet 4 store, as data (information) to bereferred and updated in processing, an obtained image storage unit 321,a passport/rule information storage unit 322, a blacklist storage unit323, an article information/article code storage unit 324, a taxexemption condition storage unit 325, and a store/tax office informationstorage unit 326. Moreover, the MFP 3 and the tablet 4 include aquarantine information storage unit 327, an advertisement informationstorage unit 328, a document format storage unit 329, an outputdestination information storage unit 330, and a processed data storageunit 331.

The obtained image storage unit 321 temporarily stores (holds) an imageof a passport and an image of a receipt obtained by the image obtainingunit 302. The passport/rule information storage unit 322 includes, for apassport of each country and each version, passport information. Thepassport information includes position information on a position (areain which identification information of a country is described among animage of a passport) in which a nationality, which is identificationinformation for identifying the country, is described in the passportand designates a value of the identification information of the country.The value is a description content, which should be described in theposition. Moreover, for each country and each version, the passportinformation includes, names of information items, position informationon positions in which the information items are described, and presetvalues (if present) of the information items, in order to obtaininformation (information on the nationality and the like), required forapplying for the tax exemption such as a passport number, a full name,and a date of birth, whose described positions are decided with respectto a reading object (a predetermined page of the passport).

Because a standard format of a passport is not common in the whole worldand a described position of each information item may differ dependingon a country and a version (edition), the passport/rule informationstorage unit 322 includes the passport information for each country andeach version. The passport/rule information storage unit 322 does nothave to include the passport information for each country and eachversion, in a case in which the position information is set inaccordance with a classification of a type of a standard format of apassport and it is only required to deal with one type of the standardformat.

Further, the passport/rule information storage unit 322 includes ruleinformation that represents one or more rules that description contents(including such as a watermark symbol and figure) satisfy as a genuinepassport. For example, as a rule in Japan, a passport number is acombination of 2 alphabet characters and a 7 digit number, a five yearpassport starts from an initial character “M”, and a ten year passportstarts from an initial character “T”. Other countries may have similarrules. That is, a different rule may be set for each country. It isincluded in the rule information includes that predetermined descriptioncontents are described in predetermined positions. Here, thepassport/rule information storage unit 322 includes similar informationfor a landing permit for crew members, an emergency landing permit, anda landing permit due to distress other than the passport. The black liststorage unit 323 stores information on a number (one or more numbers)when an inquiry (such as a report and a caution) or a reminder of taxpayment is made to a store from a tax office due to a problem of thepassport used in the past for purchasing tax-free commodities. Theinformation stored in the black list storage unit 323 is shared betweentraders.

The article information/article code storage unit 324 stores informationin which article information items are associated with one or morerespective article codes (commodity codes). The article informationitems include, for respective commodities, names of the commodities,whether the commodities (or services) are subject to (eligible for) taxexemption, and whether the commodities are general commodities(commodities except consumable commodities) for the tax exemption orconsumable commodities for the tax exemption. The tax exemptioncondition storage unit 325 stores information that represents, for thecommodities that are subject to the tax exemption, one or more taxexemption conditions for being subject to the tax exemption inaccordance with whether the commodities are the general commodities forthe tax exemption or the consumable commodities for the tax exemption.For example, in a case in which a total purchase amount (price) of oneor more general commodities for in a single day at the same store isequal to or greater than 10,001 (tax excluded) Japanese yen, the generalcommodities are subject to the tax exemption. In a case in which a totalpurchase amount (price) of one or more consumable commodities in asingle day at the same store is between 5,001 and 500,000 (tax excluded)Japanese yen, the consumable commodities are subject to the taxexemption. Further, the tax exemption condition storage unit 325 mayinclude information that represents it is required to store a copy ofthe passport in a case in which a total purchase amount of the one ormore general commodities in the single day at the same store exceeds1,000,000 (tax excluded) Japanese yen. The store/tax office informationstorage unit 326 stores information relating to a name of the store (taxfree store) 1, a name of a manager, a place for tax payment, a name of atax office and the like. The quarantine information storage unit 327includes information on whether quarantine measures are required in ahome country to which a purchaser takes one or more commodities(consumable items such as food items) back, information on whether it isprohibited to take back the commodities as hand baggage or to take backthe commodities by courier and information on substitute commodities(for example, in a case in which import of European pears is prohibited,other pears are substitute commodities). The advertisement informationstorage unit 328 stores information on one or more advertisementsprinted with documents for tax-exempt sale provided (recommended) to thepurchaser. The advertisement is associated with nationality, age, sex,names of one or more purchase commodities, purchase price, and the like.The advertisement can be created in a language in accordance with aplurality of nationalities. It is preferable to create the advertisementin both English language and the language corresponding to thenationality. Usable languages (languages to be handled) may be Englishlanguage, Korean language, Chinese language, Formosan language, Spanishlanguage, Portuguese language, German language, French language, Italianlanguage, Russian language, and the like. Even if the number of usablelanguages is small at first, the usable languages may be increased inaccordance with actual situations of customers. Further, the usablelanguages are not limited to those described above. Usable languages maybe determined as needed. Similar to the advertisement information, thedocuments for the tax exemption and the quarantine information may becreated in a plurality of languages.

The document format storage unit 329 stores information on forms ofdocuments for tax-exempt sale (a record of purchase, a covenant of apurchaser and a list of consumable commodities, for example). In thedocument format storage unit 329, item names and notes of caution arestored in a plurality of languages. In this way, a languagecorresponding to a nationality of a purchaser is selected. At this time,it is preferable to write in a language in accordance the nationality ofthe purchaser along with a default language. The default language may bea vernacular language of a country in which a store is located or alanguage primarily used in the country. In Japan, Japanese language orEnglish language, or Japanese language and English language may be thedefault language. Although document formats corresponding to alllanguages may be stored, prepared (usable) languages may be determinedas needed. For example, Japanese language, English language, Chineselanguage, and Spanish language may be stored and information thatdesignates a language to be selected (used) in accordance with anationality may be registered in advance. In this way, a languagecorresponding to a specific nationality can be determined and thedocument format(s) (item names and notes of caution) in the determinedlanguage can be used.

The output destination information storage unit 330 includes informationon a device (in a case in which the MFP 3 is used, the device is the MFP3) that prints the documents for the tax-exempt sale and theadvertisement information, and information on a temporary or permanentlystorage destination (such as a path of a folder regardless of a location(within the own device or in an external device)) of processed data. Theprocessed data storage unit 331 stores data of a creation result of thedocuments for the tax-exempt sale and data in the course of processing.

The main control unit 301 has a function to control overall operation ofprocessing in the MFP 3 and the tablet 4. The image obtaining unit 302has a function to obtain an image from a passport and an image from areceipt. The function is the scanner function in a case in which the MFP3 is used. Further, the function is the camera function in a case inwhich the tablet 4 is used. In a case in which the scanner function ofthe MFP 3 is used, the image is definitely obtained by the scanningoperation. In a case in which the camera function of the tablet 4 isused, an image being photographed (captured) within a field of view ofthe camera is displayed on a monitor of the tablet 4 when the camerafunction starts operating. Then, when a shutter button is pushed or apredetermined condition is satisfied, the image is definitely obtained.

The area/character recognition unit 303 has a function to recognize,from the image of the passport (or the writing that represents thequalification for entering the country) and the image of the receiptobtained by the image obtaining unit 302, characters, symbols, andfigures (including a code) described in the images. Here, in a case inwhich the camera function is used, the area/character recognition unit303 can recognize an image being photographed before being obtaineddefinitely. It should be noted that the area/character recognition unit303 may recognize, based on information in which description positionsand description items of an existing passport (or writing) areassociated, described contents of the passport (or the writing) from theimage obtained by the image obtaining unit 302. In a case in which therecognition is performed from the definitely obtained image by thescanner function or the camera function, an outline of a sheet (paper)is recognized from the image to recognize the characters, the figures,and the symbols described in the outline. At this time, for the readimage of the passport, names of items and description contents describedin predetermined description positions are output with reference to thepassport information of the passport/rule information storage unit 322.Further, the area/character recognition unit 303 confirms thedescription contents to discriminate the country of the passport.

The receipt image dividing/reducing unit 304 has a function, in a casein which the obtained image of the receipt is too long to be attached tothe passport when the image is printed without changing the size, todivide and/or reduce the obtained image of the receipt in accordancewith a degree of excess. Details of processing will be described later.

The authenticity determining unit 305 has a function to determine, basedon the description contents recognized by the area/character recognitionunit 303, whether the passport is genuine and valid with reference tothe rule information of the passport/rule information storage unit 322and the black list storage unit 323. The authenticity determining unit305 can use hardware (switch detection light by a filter, switchillumination light, or the like) that can deal with metallic pair inks(including a pair of inks whose color-producing components aredifferent, though appearance colors are normal) or the like used inpassports. Thereby, the authenticity determining unit 305 can determineauthenticity of the passport based on a difference of a detected(obtained) predetermined image.

The data input/revision unit 306 has a function to receive input ofinformation, such as a status of residence and a date of landing, thatcannot be obtained (has not been obtained) from the image of thepassport. Further, the data input/revision unit 306 has a function toreceive revision of the description contents of the passport and thereceipt automatically recognized by the area/character recognition unit303 and revision of processing information based on them to perform therevision. In other words, price information on selling prices ofcommodities can be obtained by the data input/revision unit 306.Further, the data input/revision unit 306 can receive information(prices and the like) on commodities entered into the system. The taxexemption object determination unit 307 has a function to determine, forthe general commodities and the consumable commodities, one or morecommodities that are subject to the tax exemption based on theprocessing results of the area/character recognition unit 303 and theauthenticity determining unit 305 with reference to the tax exemptioncondition storage unit 325. The tax exemption object determination unit307 calculates an amount (price) of tax exemption for the purchasecommodities. The tax exemption object determination unit 307 candetermine one or more commodities that are subject to the tax exemptionusing the recognized image of the receipt. The quarantine informationprovision unit 308 has a function to provide, with reference to thequarantine information storage unit 327, quarantine information (whetherquarantine measures are required, whether it is prohibited to take backthe commodity as hand baggage or to take back the commodity by courier,and substitute commodities) depending on a purchase commodity and thehome country to which a purchaser takes the commodity back. In the casein which purchase of one or more commodities is stopped or switched topurchase other commodities based on the quarantine information,adjustment processing in the POS register 2 is performed again oradjustment contents are revised.

The document creation unit 309 has a function to create, with referenceto the document format storage unit 329, data of the documents for thetax-exempt sale (a record of purchase, a covenant of a purchaser and alist of consumable commodities) based on the information on the one ormore commodities that are subject to the tax exemption determined by thetax exemption object determination unit 307 and the information obtainedfrom the passport or the like. In the document format, for each documentand each language, fields for inserting predetermined contents and dataare provided. The names of the commodities that are determined as thetax exemption objects, unit prices of the commodities, the quantities ofthe commodities, the total amount (price), a full name and a passportnumber extracted from the passport, information manually input, andpredetermined information set in the store/tax office informationstorage unit 326 are inserted. The advertisement creation unit 310 has afunction to create, based on at least one of the nationality, the sex,names of purchase commodities, the purchase amount and the like, data ofone or more advertisement documents with reference to the advertisementinformation storage unit 328. The print processing unit 311 has afunction to cause a printing apparatus, represented by an outputdestination set in the output destination information storage unit 330,to print one or more documents (one or more tax documents) for thetax-exempt sale created by the document creation unit 309 and theadvertisement document created by the advertisement creation unit 310.The print processing units 311 causes the printing apparatus to printthe documents for the tax-exempt sale for one or more relatingcommodities using one or more described contents (written contents) of apassport or writing (qualification document) that represents aqualification for entering a country recognized by the area/characterrecognition unit 303. Further, the document creation unit 309 or theprint processing unit 311 can determine, based on the price informationon the selling prices of the commodities obtained by the area/characterrecognition unit 303 and/or the data input/revision unit 306, whether animage of the passport or the writing, included in an image that has beenobtained by the scanner function or the camera function of the imageobtaining unit 302, should be printed with the documents for thetax-exempt sale. Here, the advertisement document may be printed onanother sheet (paper) that is different from the documents for thetax-exempt sale. The data storage unit 312 has a function to store, inthe processed data storage unit 331, information on the printeddocuments for the tax exemption and the advertisement document, orinformation in the course of processing.

The closing processing unit 313 has a function to cause the printingapparatus, represented by the output destination set in the outputdestination information storage unit 330, to print, in accordance withan operation of a store clerk at closing time of a day or an arrival ofa predetermined time, a list of tax exemption processing cases for theday. The data uploading unit 314 has a function to upload and transmit,to the management server 6 at a predetermined timing (such as atmidnight), data and information stored in the processed data storageunit 331 to back up the data and the information or such that theprocessed data storage unit 331 of the MFP 3 and the tablet 4 becomesnot filled up. The updating unit 315 has a function to confirm, at apredetermined timing, whether the latest version's program and/or thedata is released in the management server 6 and to download the latestversion's program and/or the data from the management server 6 toperform the update in a case in which the latest version's programand/or the data is released

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a softwareconfiguration of the management server 6. As illustrated in FIG. 8, themanagement server 6 includes a main control unit 61, an update controlunit 62, and a data backup control unit 63. These elements may beimplemented by the CPU 602 (FIG. 5) executing one or more computerprograms. Here, the programs may be provided by one or more recordingmedia. Further, the programs may be provided via a network or embeddedin the ROM and provided. Further, the management server 6 stores variouskinds of information 64 as data (information) to be referred/updated inthe processing. The various kinds of information 64 include programs anddata for update, and data uploaded from the MFP 3 or the tablet 4 forbackup.

The main control unit 61 has a function to control overall processing inthe management server 6. The update control unit 62 has a function toprovide the latest version's program and/or data stored in the variouskinds of information 64 in response to a request from the MFP 3 or thetablet 4. The data backup control unit 63 has a function to store thedata uploaded from the MFP 3 or the tablet 4 in the various kinds ofinformation 64.

<Operation>

FIG. 9 is a sequence chart illustrating an example of processingexecuted by the above described embodiment. Here, order of theprocessing may be changed arbitrarily as long as a contradiction ofprocessing contents does not occur. Further, processing that does notrequires cooperation with other processing may be executed singly andseparately from the other processes.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, when a purchaser selects commodities to bepurchased from commodities located in a store, and requests to purchasethe purchase target commodities by bringing the purchase targetcommodities to the POS register 2, a store clerk, who operates the POSregister 2, inputs the purchase target commodities in step S101.Specifically, the store clerk causes the bar code I/F 2006 or the liketo read barcodes attached to the respective commodities. Subsequently,with reference to the article information/article code storage unit 211and the tax exemption condition storage unit 212, the tax exemptioninformation provision unit 208 determines (discriminate) whether theinput purchase target commodities are general commodities that aresubject to the tax exemption or consumable commodities that are subjectto the tax exemption. In a case in which at least part of the inputpurchase target commodities are subject to the tax exemption dependingon a total purchase amount (price) of the general commodities or a totalpurchase amount (price) of the consumable commodities (in a case inwhich the total amount satisfies an applicable condition for applyingfor the tax exemption), the tax exemption information provision unit 208provides information to that effect in step S102. For example, in a casein which the total purchase amount of the general commodities exceeds10,000 Japanese yen in a single transaction process or a total purchaseamount of the consumable commodities exceeds 5,000 Japanese yen in asingle transaction process, information that represents a chance(opportunity) of the tax exemption can be reported to the purchaser froman operator (store clerk) by displaying an alert on a screen of the POSregister 2. Even when the applicable condition for the tax exemption isnot satisfied in the single transaction process, because there is alikelihood that the applicable condition can be satisfied in a case inwhich commodities are purchased separately in a plurality of times onthe same day, the operator may notify the purchaser of information tothat effect.

Further, in step S103, with reference to the quarantine informationstorage unit 213, the quarantine information provision unit 209 providesquarantine information (whether quarantine measures are required,whether it is prohibited to take back the commodities as hand baggage orto take back the commodities by courier, and substitute commodities)depending on the purchase commodities and a home country to which thepurchaser takes the commodities back. The information on the homecountry may be input manually. Further, without inputting the homecountry, general information on countries with limits and on precautionmay be provided. In this way, it becomes possible to clearly report, tothe purchaser, that quarantine measures are necessary or the commoditiescannot be taken back to the home country. Thus, unnecessary purchasescan be prevented and trouble at a later date can be prevented. Further,because the substitute commodities can be posted (notified), anopportunity loss of sale can be reduced. Here, because operation aboutthe quarantine changes at irregular intervals and it is difficult forthe purchaser and the clerk of the tax free store to accurately graspthe operation about the quarantine, systematic provision of theinformation can be valuable advice.

Then, when accounting for the purchases target commodities is completedand the purchase is decided, the receipt output control unit 207performs printing of a receipt in step S104.

After that, the purchaser goes to a space prepared for application forthe tax exemption, and hands the receipt and the passport to a storeclerk, who receives the application for the tax exemption. At this time,as described above, the receipt is not always one sheet. The store clerkconfirms the face of the purchaser and the face photograph of thepassport. In a case in which the store clerk determines that it is thesame person (the faces match), in the space where the MFP 3 or thetablet 4 is arranged, images of the receipt and an image of the passport(or the writing equivalent to the passport) read by using the scannerfunction of the MFP 3 or the imaging (camera) function of the tablet 4are obtained in step S105.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of obtaining the image ofthe passport and the images of the receipts. As illustrated in FIG. 10,the passport P and the receipts R1 to R3 are placed on a reading surfaceof the MFP 3. Then, the passport P and the receipts R1 to R3 are scanned(read) to obtain the image of the passport P and the images of thereceipts R1 to R3 at the same time. Here, the camera of the tablet 4 maybe used to simultaneously photograph (capture) the passport and receiptsto obtain the images. In this case, it is preferable to photograph thereceipts while sandwiching the receipts with a clear holder or the likebecause it is difficult to perform the photographing accurately when thereceipt is curled. Further, in a case in which the camera of the tablet4 is used to photograph the images as illustrated in FIGS. 11A to 11C,the passport and the receipts may be photographed separately. Here, ineach of the receipts R1 to R3, a name of a store, a telephone number ofthe store, a purchase date and time, names and prices of respectivecommodities, a total amount, and the like are described (printed), inJapanese language, in this order from the upper side. These informationitems are printed on each receipt according to a predetermined format.Each receipt is printed when one or more commodities are purchased.Also, an image of a qualification document that indicates aqualification for entering a country may be used (obtained) instead ofthe passport.

That is, because reading can be performed by the MFP 3 and/or the tablet4, an arrangement of the apparatuses and a configuration of the systemmay be determined in accordance with an environment. Further, two ormore MFPs 3 and two or more tablets 4 may be prepared (arranged). Forexample, the MFP 3 may be arranged for reading the passport and thereceipt(s), and the tablet 4 may be arranged for the purchaser and thestore clerk to perform manual input. Further, the tablet 4 for thepurchaser and the tablet 4 for the store clerk may be arrangedrespectively to perform the operation.

Further, in a case in which the image of the passport and the image(s)of the receipt(s) are obtained at the same time, the image of thepassport and images other than the passport are discriminated(classified) based on shapes and outlines of the images obtained byscanning. As described later, processing of extracting passportinformation is executed for the image discriminated as the image of thepassport. As described later, regarding the image other than the imageof the passport as the image of the receipt, processing of extractingreceipt information is executed for the image of the receipt. Here, thediscrimination of the type of the image may be executed during executingthe scanning. The discrimination of the type of the image may beexecuted after the scanning is completed.

Referring back to FIG. 9, in step S106, the area/character recognitionunit 303 recognizes outlines of the sheets from the images obtained bythe image obtaining unit 302, and recognizes characters, figures, andsymbols described in the outlines. In other words, the area/characterrecognition unit 303 stores the obtained image of the passport or of thequalification document and the obtained image(s) of one or more receiptswhile classifying the image of the passport or of the qualificationdocument and the image(s) of the receipts. More specifically, first, thearea/character recognition unit 303 refers to the passport informationset for each country and each version first, and based on positioninformation (position information associated with a value ofidentification information of a country in the passport information) ona position in which identification information of a country should bedescribed, extracts, from the image of the passport obtained by theimage obtaining unit 302, a description content described in an arearepresented by the position information. Next, the area/characterrecognition unit 303 determines whether the extracted descriptioncontent is the value of the identification information of the country.If matched, it indicates that the country of the obtained image of thepassport can be discriminated.

If not matched, processing is executed again in which the area/characterrecognition unit 303 extracts, based on position information on aposition in which identification information of another country shouldbe described, a description content described in an area represented bythe position information to determine whether the extracted descriptioncontent is the value of the identification information of the othercountry. In a case in which it is determined that the extracteddescription content does not match passport information of every countryand every version among the passport/rule information storage unit 322,it is reported to the store clerk (or the purchaser) an errorrepresenting that the country of the passport cannot be specified. Whenreceiving the error, the store clerk reports to the purchaser that theapplication for the tax exemption cannot be handled. Alternatively, thepassport may be confirmed visually and manual input may be selected(performed) using the tablet 4.

In a case in which the country is discriminated, next, thearea/character recognition unit 303 refers to the passport informationcorresponding to the discriminated country. Then, information requiredfor applying for the tax exemption such as a passport number, a fullname, and a date of birth is extracted based on position information(and preset values, if present) corresponding to an item name of eachinformation item. In this way, from the image of the passport, describedcontents of at least part of items of the information required for theapplication for the tax exemption are extracted and obtained.

From the obtained image of the receipt, information on each of thepurchased commodities is extracted. First, from the image of the receiptof one sheet obtained by the recognition processing of the outline, aname of the store (or identification information for identifying thestore) and information on the purchase date and time are obtained. Next,information on each of the purchased commodities described in the imageof the receipt is obtained. Because the receipt has a descriptionstructure of a fixed format (for example, from top to bottom, a storename, a date and time, commodities, a total are described), theseinformation can be obtained based on position information and areadesignation information that are registered in advance.

For example, information (such as the store name and the date and time)described in locations decided from a predetermined position of thereceipt is registered as the position information. As for items such ascommodities whose description areas are changed in accordance with thenumber of purchased commodities in a single transaction, an area and adescription structure describing information on one commodity aredesignated, and information on a designation area is extracted from alocation (position where description of information on a first commodityis started) decided from the predetermined position (top edge) of thereceipt. Further, information on a designation area decided from abottom edge of the extracted information is extracted. In this way, byrepeating processing as described above until information on all of thecommodities is obtained, the information on each of the commodities canbe obtained. For example, when information on an extracted area includescharacters “TOTAL AMOUNT”, it is determined that obtaining informationon all of the commodities is finished. Here, a method for obtaining theinformation of each of the commodities is not limited to this. Anothermethod using a description rule (for example, numbers are given to thecommodities in order) and/or a description structure of the receipt maybe used.

When the information on the purchased commodities is extracted from thereceipt, based on character recognition, information on article codes(may be commodity names as long as it is information for identifying thecommodities) of the purchased commodities, unit prices of the purchasedcommodities, and the purchased numbers of the commodities can berecognized and information on the commodities can be obtained. In thisway, information on the purchase store, the purchase date and time, thepurchase commodities, the prices, and the like in the receipt of onesheet can be obtained. In a case in which images of a plurality ofreceipts are included in the obtained image, the above describedobtaining the information on the commodities is performed for therespective images of the plurality of receipts.

When the information on the commodities is obtained from the image ofthe receipt, it is determined whether the name of the store obtainedfrom the image of the receipt is the name of the store 1 (own store)registered in the store/tax office information storage unit 326. In acase in which the name of the store obtained from the image of thereceipt is not the registered store, because the receipt is an improperreceipt (receipt not subject to the tax exemption in this store),information to that effect is reported and the purchased commoditiesdescribed in the receipt are excluded from the application for the taxexemption. That is, the information on the commodities obtained from theimproper receipt is not used, in the subsequent processing, as a subjectof the application for the tax exemption. Here, in a case in which aplurality of stores are registered in the store/tax office informationstorage unit 326 and images of a plurality of receipts are obtained, inaddition to determining whether it is a registered store, the respectivereceipts are classified for the stores. This is because a condition forapplying for the tax exemption relates to a purchase amount (price) inone store.

Next, in a case in which a plurality of receipts of the same storeregistered in the store/tax office information storage unit 326 arepresent in the obtained images of the receipts, based on purchase datesof the receipts, the respective receipts are classified for the purchasedates. Then, the plurality of receipts are calculated (summed) for therespective purchase dates. This is because the condition for applyingfor the tax exemption relates to a purchase amount (price) in one day.

When it is confirmed from the receipts that the commodities arepurchased in the stores registered in the store/tax office informationstorage unit 326, and the receipts are classified per day per store,article codes of the purchased commodities are obtained from theclassified receipts. Then, based on the article information/article codestorage unit 324, from article information items corresponding to thearticle codes of the respective purchased commodities, it is determined(discriminated) whether the respective purchased commodities arecommodities subject to the tax exemption. Further, in a case in whichthe purchased commodity is a commodity that is subject to the taxexemption, it is determined (discriminated) whether the classificationof the purchased commodity is a general commodity or a consumablecommodity.

When issuing the receipt, the POS register 2 may describe, for each ofthe purchased commodities, identification information representing thata purchased commodity is a general commodity or is a consumablecommodity as the commodity information on the corresponding commodity onthe receipt. In this case, the identification information is obtainedfrom the commodity information on each commodity obtained from the imageof the receipt. Then, based on the identification information, whetherthe commodity is a general commodity, a consumable commodity or notsubject to the tax exemption can be determined (discriminated) for eachof the purchased commodities. For example, the POS register 2 may issuethe receipt in which “0” mark is described beside an article code foreach of the general commodities and “A” mark is described beside anarticle code for each of the consumable commodities.

After the determination for all of the classified receipts is completed,per day per store, amounts of the respective purchased generalcommodities that are subject to the tax exemption are summed and amountsof the respective purchased consumable commodities that are subject tothe tax exemption are summed. Then, the respective total amounts(prices) are calculated. In this way, from the obtained image(s) of thereceipt(s), calculation results of the total amount of the generalcommodities that are subject to the tax exemption and the total amountof the consumable commodities that are subject to the tax exemption canbe obtained per day per store.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of recognizing outlines ofthe image of the passport P and the images of the receipts R1 to R3. Thepassport P and the receipts R1 to R3 are distinguished (classified) byrecognizing the described contents. The area/character recognition unit303 extracts (cut outs) the recognized image of the passport P and therecognized images of the receipts R1 to R3. Then, as illustrated in FIG.13, the area/character recognition unit 303 gives unique file names tothe image of the passport P and the images of the receipts R1 to R3 andstores the images in the obtained image storage unit 321. FIG. 13 is adiagram illustrating an example of storing the image of the passport Pand the images of the receipts R1 to R3.

Referring back to FIG. 9, in step S107, in a case in which the storedimage of the receipt is too long to be attached to the passport when theimage is printed without changing the size, the receipt imagedividing/reducing unit 304 divides and/or reduces the stored image ofthe receipt in accordance with a degree of excess.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing fordividing/reducing the image of the receipt. As illustrated in FIG. 14,the receipt image dividing/reducing unit 304 obtains a size of the imageof the receipt in step S201. In a case in which a plurality of receiptimages are present, the receipt image dividing/reducing unit 304 obtainsa size of each receipt image to perform the following processing. Imageprocessing is performed on the image of the receipt such that the imageof the receipt fits within an area for the receipt of the documents fortax-exempt sale.

Next, the receipt image dividing/reducing unit 304 determines whetherthe size of the image of the receipt exceeds a first predeterminedthreshold in step S202. The first predetermined threshold is a width(depth that can be sandwiched) of the passport. For example, the firstpredetermined threshold is 10 cm. In a case in which the receipt imagedividing/reducing unit 304 determines that the size of the image of thereceipt does not exceed the first predetermined threshold (NO in stepS202), the processing ends without performing the division/reduction. Inother words, in the case where the size of the image of the receipt doesnot exceed the first threshold, the image of the receipt is printedwithout changing the size of the image of the receipt.

In a case in which the receipt image dividing/reducing unit 304determines that the size of the image of the receipt exceeds the firstpredetermined threshold (YES in step S202), the receipt imagedividing/reducing unit 304 further determines whether the size of theimage of the receipt exceeds a second predetermined threshold in stepS203. For example, the second predetermined threshold is a valueobtained by adding a predetermined excessive size, which may be 2 cmthat is equal to 20% of 10 cm, to the width (depth that can besandwiched) of the passport For example, the second predeterminedthreshold is 12 cm. In a case in which the receipt imagedividing/reducing unit 304 determines that the size of the image of thereceipt exceeds the second predetermined threshold (YES in step S203),the receipt image dividing/reducing unit 304 divides the image of thereceipt in step S204. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example ofdividing the image of the receipt. As illustrated in FIG. 15, becausethe size of “A001-RECEIPT 03” exceeds the second threshold, which is 12cm, “A001-RECEIPT 03” is divided into a plurality of images such thatthe sizes of the divided images fit within the first threshold, which is10 cm.

Referring back to FIG. 14, in a case in which the receipt imagedividing/reducing unit 304 determines that the size of the image of thereceipt is equal to or less than the second predetermined threshold (NOin step S203), the receipt image dividing/reducing unit 304 reduces theimage of the receipt in step S205. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating anexample of reducing the image of the receipt. As illustrated in FIG. 16,because the size of “A001-RECEIPT 03” exceeds the first threshold 10 cmbut does not exceed second threshold 12 cm, “A001-RECEIPT 03” is reducedsuch that the size of the reduced image fits within the first threshold10 cm.

Here, the first threshold and the second threshold are not limited tothe above described example values. Further, the second threshold may bechangeable in accordance with a font size of the receipt. In this case,the area/character recognition unit 303 obtains (detects) the font sizeof the receipt, and the second threshold can be set based on theobtained font size. When the font size is large, the second threshold isset to be a large value to prioritize the reduction because thereadability can be maintained even when the image of the receipt isreduced. As a result, it becomes possible to recognize unity of theimages of the receipts because the receipt is not divided unless thereceipt is exceptionally long.

Although the division or the reduction is alternatively (selectively)performed for the image of the receipt in the examples illustrated inFIGS. 14 to 16, the division and the reduction may be performed at thesame time. For example, the reduction may be preferentially performed,and the division may be performed if the image exceeds the firstthreshold even when the image is reduced.

Referring back to FIG. 9, in step S108, based on the described contentsrecognized by the area/character recognition unit 303, the authenticitydetermining unit 305 determines whether the passport is genuine andvalid with reference to the rule information of the passport/ruleinformation storage unit 322 and the blacklist storage unit 323. In acase in which the authenticity determining unit 305 determines that thepassport is not genuine and valid, an alert to that effect is made andthe subsequent processing is stopped.

In a case in which the authenticity determining unit 305 determines thatthe passport is genuine and valid, after inputting the describedcontents of items extracted from the image of the passport among theinformation items necessary for the application for the tax exemption,the data input/revision unit 306 displays a screen in which informationfor the application for the tax exemption can be input and revised. Atthis time, input items, which are information items other than theinformation items extracted from the image of the passport, to be inputby the purchaser for the application for the tax exemption are includedin the screen. Further, item names of the extracted information itemsand item names of the input items are described (displayed) in Japaneselanguage as a default (a vernacular language of a country in which astore is located or a language primarily used in the country) and in alanguage (native language) corresponding to the country (nationality)specified from the image of the passport based on correspondenceinformation of nationalities and working languages registered in thedocument format storage unit 329. In this way, the item names can bedisplayed in both the language (here, Japanese language) preferable forthe store clerk and in the language preferable for the purchaser.

The purchaser operates the screen and/or an input device such as akeyboard to input a status of residence, a date of landing and the like,which are information items that cannot be obtained (have not beobtained) from the image of the passport. The data input/revision unit306 receives the input, reflects (updates) the input contents in thescreen, and displays the updated screen. Further, the store clerkconfirms whether the described contents of the passport and the receiptautomatically recognized by the area/character recognition unit 303 arecorrect via the screen. If revision is necessary, the store clerkrevises the described contents and processing information based ondescribed contents. The data input/revision unit 306 receives the inputrevised contents to update the screen in which the revision is reflectedin step S109.

FIGS. 17A to 17D are diagrams illustrating examples of the screen forinputting and revising data. In FIG. 17A, the image of the passport andthe recognition result (result of reading) are displayed in the MFP 3,and input of a status or residence (when tapped, options of “temporaryvisitor”, “college student”, “entertainer”, “cultural activities” andthe like are displayed and selectable from them), input of a date oflanding, revise of a total amount of the general commodities and a totalamount of the consumable commodities can be performed. FIG. 17Billustrates a screen in the tablet 4 similar to the screen in the MFP 3.In FIG. 17C, the image of the receipt and the recognition result (resultof reading) are displayed in the MFP 3, and the total amount of thegeneral commodities, and the total amount of the consumable commodities,and a purchase total amount can be revised. FIG. 17D illustrates ascreen in the tablet 4 similar to the screen in the MFP 3.

Referring back to FIG. 9, when the input and the revise of theinformation are completed via the screen, and an instruction of thecompletion of the confirmation is made by the purchaser or the storeclerk (for example, a “completion” button is pushed), the tax exemptionobject determination unit 307 determines in step S110, for the generalcommodities and the consumable commodities, one or more commodities thatare subject to the tax exemption with reference to the tax exemptioncondition storage unit 325. Specifically, the tax exemption objectdetermination unit 307 determines whether a total amount of the generalcommodities, purchased in a single day at the same store, that aresubject to the tax exemption satisfies the applicable condition for theapplication for the tax exemption. Specifically, the tax exemptionobject determination unit 307 determines whether the total amount of thegeneral commodities exceeds 10,000 Japanese yen. Similarly, the taxexemption object determination unit 307 determines whether a totalamount of the consumable commodities, purchased in a single day at thesame store, that are subject to the tax exemption satisfies theapplicable condition for the application for the tax exemption.Specifically, the tax exemption object determination unit 307 determineswhether the total amount of the consumable commodities exceeds 5,000Japanese yen. If it is determined that the total amount of the generalcommodities and/or the total amount of the consumable commoditiesexceeds the corresponding amount (predetermined price), the applicablecondition for applying for the tax exemption is satisfied.

Next, in a case in which the total amount of the consumable commoditiesexceeds 5,000 Japanese yen, the tax exemption object determination unit307 determines whether the total amount of the consumable commoditiesexceeds 500,000 Japanese yen. Because there is an upper limit amount(price) for the application for the tax exemption for the consumablecommodities, an excess part exceeding 500,000 Japanese yen is subject totaxation.

Here, at this time, based on the processed data storage unit 331, it isdetermined whether the same purchaser has already applied for the taxexemption for consumable commodities purchased in the same day at thestore 1. Specifically, by searching the processed data storage unit 331using the purchaser (name obtained from the passport) and the date ofpurchase described in the receipt of the tax exemption applicationobjects as keys, it is confirmed (determined) whether pertinentprocessed data is present.

In a case in which the pertinent processed data is present, a totalamount of consumable commodities for which the tax exemption has beenapplied is obtained from the pertinent processed data, and the obtainedtotal amount is added (summed) to the total amount of the consumablecommodities for which the tax exemption is applied this time. In otherwords, the past total amount is added to the total amount this time(current total amount). In a case in which a plurality of pieces ofpertinent processed data for the tax exemption application are present,a total amount obtained from each of the plurality of pieces of thepertinent processed data is added to the total amount of the consumablecommodities for which the tax exemption is applied this time. Then, itis determined whether the total amount after being added (summed)exceeds 500,000 Japanese yen.

For example, even when consumable commodities have been purchased for aplurality of times separately and tax exemptions have been applied for aplurality of times separately, if the total amount exceeds 500,000Japanese yen, an amount of the excess part is subject to taxation. Inthis way, it becomes possible to prevent a surcharge to be charged at alater date from a tax office to the tax free store.

If the tax exemption object determination unit 307 determines that thetotal amount of the consumable commodities exceeds 500,000 Japanese yen,information to that effect is reported to the store clerk or thepurchaser. At this time, a selection screen for selecting commodities tobe excluded from the objects of the application for the tax exemption isdisplayed, and the purchaser may select one or more commodities to beexcluded from the objects of the application for the tax exemption.

For example, a commodity list of the consumable commodities that aresubject to the tax exemption and the total amount are displayed in thetablet 4, and the purchaser selects one or more commodities to beexcluded from the objects. When the commodities are selected, a totalamount in which prices of the selected commodities are subtracted isdisplayed in the screen. Then, in a case in which the updated(subtracted) total amount becomes equal to or less than 500,000 Japaneseyen, the purchaser can instruct to decide commodities for the taxexemption application via the screen. For example, the screen iscontrolled such that when a total amount exceeds 500,000 Japanese yen, a“decide button” is displayed in non-selectable manner, and when a totalamount becomes equal to or less than 500,000 Japanese yen, a “decidebutton” is displayed in a selectable manner. In this way, based on thereceipt of the commodities purchased by the purchaser, the generalcommodities and the consumable commodities that are subject to the taxexemption can be determined.

Further, under the current system in Japan, in a case in which a totalpurchase price of the general commodities in a single day exceeds 1million Japanese yen, there is a duty to store a copy of the passport.Thus, it is determined whether the duty is present based on theprocessed data storage unit 331 similarly. That is, it is retrieved(determined) whether a tax exemption application applied by the samepurchaser in the same day in the same store is present in tax exemptionapplications that have been already applied (in other words, other taxexemption applications made by the same person are retrieved from thetax exemption applications that have been applied in the same store onthe same day). If the application is present, a total amount of generalcommodities for which the tax exemption has been applied is added(summed) to the total amount of the general commodities for which thetax exemption is applied this time. Then, it is determined whether thetotal amount after being added (summed) exceeds 1 million Japanese yen.

In this way, for example, in a case in which a total amount of generalcommodities purchased in the morning in some day is 800,000 Japaneseyen, it is determined at that time that there is no duty to store a copyof the passport. However, in a case in which general commodities arepurchased for 300,000 Japanese yen in the afternoon of the day, it isdetermined that there is a duty to store a copy of the passport becausethe total amount (1,100,000 Japanese yen) exceeds 1 million Japaneseyen. In this way, a human error of forgetting to store a copy of thepassport can be prevented.

Next, in step S111, the quarantine information provision unit 308provides, with reference to the quarantine information storage unit 327,quarantine information (whether quarantine measures are required,whether it is prohibited to take back the commodity as hand baggage orto take back the commodity by courier, and substitute commodities)depending on the purchase commodities and the home country to which thepurchaser takes the commodities back. Because information on the countryhas been specified by using the described contents of the nationalityextracted from the passport, the quarantine information provision unit308 can refer to the quarantine information storage unit 327corresponding to the specified country and provide the informationcorresponding to the country of the purchaser (applicant).

Next, in step S112, based on a determination result by the tax exemptionobject determination unit 307, the information on one or morecommodities (both the general commodities and the consumablecommodities) that are subject to the application for the tax exemptionin this time, information obtained from the passport, input/revisedinformation, information registered in the store/tax office informationstorage unit 326 and the like, the document creation unit 309 createsdata of the documents for the tax-exempt sale (a record of purchase, acovenant of a purchaser, and a list of consumable commodities) withreference to the document format storage unit 329. Here, a documentformat of a language corresponding to the nationality specified from thepassport is used in at least part of the documents for the tax-exemptsale to be created. For example, in the covenant (purchaser's agreement)of the purchaser in which the purchaser signs the purchaser's name tomake a pledge, it is preferable to use the language, corresponding tothe nationality of the passport, for contents of pledge and contentsthat describe caution, because it is preferable that these contents aredescribed in the language readable by the purchaser.

Next, in step S113, based on at least one of the nationality, the sex,the names of the purchased commodities, the purchase amount and thelike, the advertisement creation unit 310 creates data of anadvertisement document with reference to the advertisement informationstorage unit 328. The advertisement document is created in the languagecorresponding to the nationality. It is preferable to create anddescribe the advertisement document using both the languagecorresponding to the nationality and English language.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of the advertisementinformation storage unit 328. As illustrated in FIG. 18, in theadvertisement information storage unit 328, advertisement information isregistered in a folder provided for each language (Japanese language,English language, Chinese language, Thai language, French language, andthe like). Further, files such as “ADVERTISEMENT FOR MEN” and“ADVERTISEMENT FOR WOMEN” are registered in each folder.

Then, an appropriate folder is specified based on the countryinformation obtained from the passport information. For example, if thenationality is Chinese, the folder “ADVERTISEMENT IN CHINESE LANGUAGE”is specified. Moreover, a file is specified based on the sex informationobtained from the passport information, and the advertisementinformation is obtained from the specified file. For example,“ADVERTISEMENT FOR MEN” is obtained for a man. Here, that theadvertisement information may be embedded in a vacant space (forexample, an area, among four divided areas of a sheet, on which nothingis printed) when the documents for the tax exemption are printed.However, in a case in which it is imperative to print the advertisementinformation, at least one of the documents for the tax exemption isdivided to (printed on) another sheet to make the vacant space, or theadvertisement information is printed on another sheet. The advertisementinformation may include a coupon and the like. Further, theadvertisement information is not limited to typical characters/imagesfor people. The advertisement information may include two-dimensionalcode in which a URL link is embedded.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing forinserting the advertisement in the vacant space. The processing ismainly performed by the advertisement creation unit 310 (FIG. 7). Asillustrated in FIG. 19, in step S201, the advertisement creation unit310 sets the number of printing items to “2” corresponding to “RECORD OFPURCHASE” and “COVENANT OF PURCHASER” as an initial value.

Next, in step S202, the advertisement creation unit 310 determineswhether to print a receipt (image) to be reserved (stored) at the store(duplicate copy for the store). The determination (whether to print ornot) in step S202 may be set by initial settings or may be setcase-by-case. Then, the determination is made based on the settings. Ina case in which the advertisement creation unit 310 determines to printthe receipt (image) to be reserved at the store (Yes in step S202), theadvertisement creation unit 310 increments the number of printing itemsby 1 in step S203.

After determining not to print the receipt (image) to be reserved at thestore (No in step S202), or after incrementing the number of printingitems by 1 in step S203, the advertisement creation unit 310 determinesin step S204 whether to print a list of the commodities or a receiptimage, which can serve as a substitute for the list of the commodities.The determination (whether to print or not) in step S204 may be set bythe initial settings or may be set case-by-case. Then, the determinationis made based on the settings. In a case in which the advertisementcreation unit 310 determines to print the list of commodities or thereceipt image, which can serve as the substitute for the list of thecommodities, (Yes in step S204), the advertisement creation unit 310increments the number of printing items by 1 in step S205.

In a case of determining not to print the list of commodities or thereceipt image, which can serve as the substitute for the list of thecommodities (No in step S204), or after incrementing the number ofprinting items by 1 in step S205, the advertisement creation unit 310determines in step S206 whether to print the image of the passport. Forexample, in a case in which there is a duty to store the image of thepassport because a total amount of the general commodities exceeds 1million Japanese yen, the advertisement creation unit 310 determines toprint the image of the passport. In a case in which the advertisementcreation unit 310 determines to print the image of the passport (Yes instep S206), the advertisement creation unit 310 increments the number ofprinting items by 1 in step S207. Here, the qualification document thatindicates a qualification for entering a country may be used (printed)instead of the passport.

In a case of determining not to print the image of the passport (No instep S206), or after incrementing the number of printing items by 1 instep S207, the advertisement creation unit 310 determines in step S208whether to print advertisement. Whether to print the advertisement maybe set by initial settings in advance. Then, the determination is madebased on the settings. In a case in which the advertisement creationunit 310 determines not to print the advertisement (No in step S208),the processing ends.

In a case in which the advertisement creation unit 310 determines toprint the advertisement (Yes in step S208), the advertisement creationunit 310 determines in step S209 a size of a sheet and whether to printthe advertisement in accordance with the number of printing items. Then,the processing ends. That is, even if the advertisement creation unit310 determines to print the advertisement in step S208, there may be acase that the advertisement is not to be printed depending on the numberof printing items. FIG. 20 is an example of a table in which the numberof printing items is associated with a size of the sheet and whether toprint the advertisement. In a case in which the number of printing itemsis an even number (“2” or “4”), the advertisement is not to be printed.In a case in which the number of printing items is an odd number (“3” or“5”), the advertisement is to be printed. Although the size of the sheetand addition of an advertisement item are determined in accordance withthe number of printing items, the number of advertisement items may beadded in accordance with the number of vacant items (spaces) in a casein which the size of the sheet is fixed. For example, in a case in whichthe number of printing items before the advertisement is printed is “2”and the size of the sheet is fixed as A4 size (210 mm×297 mm), 2 itemsof the documents for the tax exemption and 2 items of advertisements canbe printed on one A4 size sheet.

Although, the receipt image can be used for “COVENANT OF PURCHASER(receipt is attached to be reserved at the store)” and “LIST OFCONSUMABLE COMMODITIES (or receipt handled as a substitute)” of twokinds of documents, the receipt or the like output from the POS register2 may be attached. Thus, in consideration of the number of receipts tobe printed from the POS register 2, the number of receipts to be outputfrom the system at the store may be selectable. Here, other than theabove described two kinds of documents, “RECORD OF PURCHASE (receipt isattached for passport attachment)” may be handled as a determinationobject described above.

Further, by combining and printing documents in accordance withperforations, a layout of printing can be performed in order to satisfythe following conditions.

-   -   There is no perforation between the covenant of the purchaser        and the receipt.    -   The advertisement can be cut independently.    -   The list of the consumable commodities can be cut independently.    -   The record of purchase can be cut independently (however, there        is no perforation in a case in which a receipt to be attached to        the passport is printed).

Referring back to FIG. 9, in step S114, the print processing unit 311causes a printing apparatus, represented by an output destination set inthe output destination information storage unit 330, to print thedocuments for the tax-exempt sale created by the document creation unit309 and the advertisement document created by the advertisement creationunit 310. Before printing is started, a print preview image asillustrated in FIG. 21 is displayed on the MFP 3 or the tablet 4. Then,when an instruction to start printing is received from the operator,printing is started.

FIGS. 22A and 22B are diagrams illustrating examples of arrangement ofthe documents for the tax exemption on one sheet. In the examplesillustrated in FIGS. 22A and 22B, a plurality of documents for the taxexemption are printed on one sheet, and the documents can be cut away.By using the sheet having perforations on positions illustrated bybroken lines, cutting can be easily performed. The advertisementinformation may be printed on other sheets. FIG. 22A illustrates thedocuments for the general commodities. In FIG. 22A, the record ofpurchase and the covenant of the purchaser are arranged. FIG. 22Billustrates the documents for the consumable commodities. In FIG. 22B,the record of purchase, the covenant of the purchaser, and the list ofthe consumable commodities are arranged. The list of the consumablecommodities may be omitted in a case in which a receipt is used as asubstitute for the list of the consumable commodities. FIG. 23illustrates an example of the record of purchase. FIG. 24 illustrates anexample of the covenant of the purchaser. FIG. 25 illustrates an exampleof the list of the consumable commodities. These documents include oneor more items obliged to be described according to tax laws.

The record of purchase is attached to the passport of the purchaser, anda tally impression is stamped. The covenant of the purchaser is storedat the store 1 after the name is signed by the purchaser. The list ofthe consumable commodities is attached to baggage packed in atransparent packing member such that contents can be observed from theoutside, or is enclosed in the packing member such that the contents canbe observed from the outside. Here, in a case in which an amount (price)of tax exemption has not been deducted in the POS register 2, the amountof the tax exemption is refunded when the documents for the taxexemption are delivered.

Next, an example will be described in which a sheet feeding cassette isappropriately selected to change a sheet in accordance with a layout ofthe documents when the MFP 3 performs printing in steps S112 (CREATEDOCUMENTS) to S114 (PRINT) of FIG. 9.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating an example of the MFP 3 including aplurality of sheet feeding cassettes. In the sheet feeding cassettes,sheets having different sizes and different perforations are set. Asillustrated in FIG. 26, in a sheet feeding cassette of a first step ofthe MFP 3, sheets having A5 size (longitudinal) and having perforationsillustrated by a broken line are set. In a sheet feeding cassette of asecond step, sheets having A4 size (lateral) and having perforationsillustrated by broken lines are set. In a sheet feeding cassette of athird step, sheets having A4 size (lateral) and having perforationsillustrated by broken lines are set. Also, as illustrated in FIG. 26,each of the plurality kinds of sheets, set in the sheet feedingcassette, may have perforations between a part to be handed to apurchaser and a part to be stored at the store. Here, a layout of thedocuments and perforations are not limited to the example illustrated inFIG. 26.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing forselecting a sheet feeding cassette based on a layout of the documents.The processing is mainly performed by the print processing unit 311(FIG. 7). As illustrated in FIG. 27, in step S301, the print processingunit 311 determines whether there is a receipt image to be printed. In acase in which the print processing unit 311 determines that there is noreceipt image to be printed (No in step S301), the print processing unit311 selects the feeding cassette of the first step (A5 sizelongitudinal), and performs the printing in step S302. In this case, therecord of purchase (record of purchase of consumption tax-exempt forexport) to be attached to the passport is printed on the upper half ofthe sheet segmented by the perforations, and a note of caution isprinted on its back surface. Further, the covenant of the purchaser tobe reserved at the store is printed on the lower half of the sheet. FIG.28 is a diagram illustrating an example of the record of purchase andthe covenant of the purchaser. FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating anexample of the note of caution printed on the back surface.

Referring back to FIG. 27, in a case in which the print processing unit311 determines that there is the receipt image to be printed (Yes instep S301), the print processing unit 311 determines in step S303whether a total amount (price) of the general commodities exceeds 1million Japanese yen. That is, the print processing unit 311 determineswhether there is a duty to store a copy of the passport. In a case inwhich the print processing unit 311 determines that there is no duty tostore the copy of the passport (No in step S303), the print processingunit 311 selects the feeding cassette of the second step (A4 sizelateral) and performs the printing in step S304. In this case, therecord of purchase to be attached to the passport is printed on a leftside of the upper half of the sheet segmented by the perforations, thenote of caution is printed on its back surface, and an advertisementimage is printed on a right side of the upper half. Further, the receiptimage and the covenant of the purchaser to be reserved at the store areprinted on the lower half of the sheet. In this case, the right side ofthe lower half of the sheet is a receipt area on which the image of thereceipt is printed. Here, the advertisement information may be printedon a blank portion as described above.

In a case in which the print processing unit 311 determines that thereis the duty to store the copy of the passport (Yes in step S303), theprint processing unit 311 selects the feeding cassette of the third step(A4 size lateral) and performs the printing in step S305. In this case,the record of purchase to be attached to the passport is printed on theleft side of the upper half of the sheet segmented by perforations, andthe note of caution is printed on its back surface of the sheet.Further, the image of the passport is printed on the right side of theupper half, and the receipt image and the covenant of the purchaser tobe reserved at the store are printed on the lower half of the sheet. Inthis case, the right side of the upper half of the sheet is a passportarea on which the image of the passport is printed. Also, the right sideof the lower half of the sheet is a receipt area on which the image ofthe receipt is printed.

The documents for the tax exempt sale are basically constituted with therecord of purchase and the covenant of the purchaser. However, in a casein which the total amount of the general commodities exceeds 1 millionJapanese yen, the copy of the passport is included in the documents forthe tax exempt sale. As for the consumable commodities, the list of theconsumable commodities or an alternative receipt or the like that canserve as a substitute for the list is included in the documents for thetax exempt sale. Further, a receipt attached to the record of purchase,or an alternative document that can serve as a substitute for thereceipt may be included in the documents for the tax exempt sale asneeded. Moreover, a receipt attached to the covenant of the purchaser oran alternative document that can serve as a substitute for the receiptmay be included in the documents for the tax exempt sale as needed. In acase in which the record of purchase and the covenant of the purchaser,which are the basic constitution, are printed, these two documents areprinted on a sheet having a small size like the A5 size according to theabove described processes because it is unnecessary to print otherdocuments.

In a case in which a copy of the passport (image of the passport), thelist of the consumable commodities or the like is also to be printed, asheet having a large size like the A4 size is used to perform theprinting effectively, because when the sheets having the A5 size areused, the number of sheets to be used is increased and the documents maybe scattered. Here, the record of purchase, the covenant of thepurchaser, and the copy of the passport may be reduced and printed onone sheet having the A5 size. However, it makes difficult to store thedocuments in the store, because the sizes of the documents may varydepending on a situation, even if the contents of the documents are thesame. Accordingly, in order to store the documents in the same size, itis preferable to use the sheet having the A4 size, whose area is twiceas large as the area of the sheet having the A5 size.

Further, in the documents for the tax exempt sale, although a part to beattached to the passport (for passport attachment) and a part to bereserved at the store (for reserve at store) are output on the samesheet, a workload for separating the documents can be reduced becauseperorations are formed on sheets (A4 size, A5 size) in advance.

Referring back to FIG. 9, in step S115, the data storage unit 312stores, in the processed data storage unit 331, information on theprinted documents for the tax exempt sale and the advertisementdocument, or information in the course of the processing. In a case inwhich the tax exemption object determination unit 307 determines thatthere is the duty to store the copy of the passport, storage processingfor storing the obtained image of the passport is executed. As anexample of the storage processing, processing for causing the image ofthe passport to be included in data to be stored in the processed datastorage unit 331, processing for transmitting the image of the passportto the management server 6 (then, the management server 6 stores theimage of the passport), or processing for recording the image of thepassport in a dedicated recording device may be executed. Further, forexample, processing for printing the image of the passport when thedocuments for the tax exempt sale are printed may be executed. In a casein which the image of the passport is printed, the image of the passportmay be included in the sheet illustrated in FIG. 22A, may be included inthe covenant of the purchaser of the general commodities, or may beprinted on another sheet. Here, the image of the passport is stored inassociation with the covenant of the purchaser.

On the other hand, in a case in which the tax exemption objectdetermination unit 307 determines that there is no duty to store thecopy of the passport, the image of the passport (data of the obtainedimage) is discarded and not stored. Especially, because the passport hashighly confidential information, it is preferable to delete the image ofthe passport from a storage unit such as a HDD and a memory, included inthe apparatus that has obtained image of the passport, such that otherpeople cannot easy to obtain the image of the passport. Here, the dataof the image of the passport (or the writing) can be discarded after thedescribed contents of the passport (or the writing) are recognized bythe area/character recognition unit 303.

As described above, the print processing unit 311 causes the printingapparatus to print, on a passport area of one or more documents fortax-exempt sale, the image of the passport or of the qualificationdocument. Also, the print processing unit 311 causes the printingapparatus to print, on a receipt area of one or more documents fortax-exempt sale, the image of the receipt on which image processing, asillustrated in FIGS. 14 to 16, is performed so as to fit the image ofthe receipt in the receipt area. In other words, in a case where a sizeof the receipt exceeds a predetermined threshold, the image processingis performed to divide and/or reduce the image of the receipt.

In step S116, the closing processing unit 313 causes the printingapparatus, represented by the output destination set in the outputdestination information storage unit 330, to print, in accordance withan operation of the store clerk at a closing time of a day or an arrivalof a predetermined time, a list of tax exemption processing cases forthe day. For example, the printing apparatus may output a transfer slipfor tax exemption and a list of tax exemption amounts of passportnumbers by using paper. Here, information output by using the paper isnot limited to this. Not only the passport numbers, but also countryinformation read from the passport information and the like may be addedand output. Further, contents of the tax exemption amounts and thetransfer slip for the tax exemption can be processed into informationpreviously sorted for each county (information on how many people haveapplied for the tax exemption, on countries they came from, and/or onamounts of the tax exemption that they applied for) based on the countryinformation, and the processed information can be output. In this way,the information on the tax exemption processing cases of the day can beutilized in a sales strategy such as a sales plan from a next day(tomorrow) and revision of sales materials in the store.

In step S117, the data uploading unit 314 uploads and transmits, to themanagement server 6 at a predetermined timing (such as at midnight),data and/or information stored in the processed data storage unit 331 toback up the data and/or the information or such that the processed datastorage unit 331 of the MFP 3 and the tablet 4 is not filled up. Inresponse to this, the data backup control unit 63 of the managementserver 6 stores the data and/or the information uploaded from the MFP 3or the tablet 4 in step S118.

<Review>

As described above, according to the embodiment, it is possible toeffectively determine whether one or more obtained documents satisfyeligible conditions. In this way, it is possible to improve an operatingrate of apparatuses in the store and to perform smooth tax-exempt salewithout affecting a sales task of commodities, performed conventionally,as far as possible.

Also, the following effects can be obtained.

-   -   It is possible to use an image processing apparatus having an        image reading function such as an MFP generally installed in a        store to create one or more documents for tax-exempt sale        without using a printing unit dedicated for the documents for        tax-exempt sale.    -   It is possible to use recording sheets having general-purpose        sizes output from the MFP to create the documents for tax-exempt        sale.    -   It is possible to streamline and optimize information        arrangement (layout) of related documents and the like,        magnification adjustment, selection of the recording sheet, and        the like in order to be able to output one or more documents for        tax-exempt sale using one or more recording sheets having a        general-purpose size.    -   It is possible to use the scanner function provided in the MFP        to read a passport or a qualification document that indicates a        qualification for entering a country. Thereby, it is possible to        create the documents for tax-exempt sale without providing a        dedicated reading apparatus. In this case, largeness of a        platen, which is a feature of the scanner function of the MFP,        is utilized to read the passport and one or more receipts at the        same time and to read a plurality of receipts at the same time.        Thereby, it is possible to reduce man-hours for the documents        for tax-exempt sale.

As above, the present disclosure is described according to theembodiment of the present disclosure. Although the present disclosure isdescribed with reference to the specific examples, it is apparent thatvarious modifications and changes may be made to these specific exampleswithout departing from the extensive points and the scope of the presentdisclosure as defined in the claims. That is, the present disclosureshould not be limited by the details of the specific examples and theattached drawings.

Here, although the system (tax-exempt sale document creating system) forcreating one or more documents relating to tax-exempt sale for aplurality of purchases (a plurality of receipts) conducted in the samestore is described as an example of the embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example,the present disclosure may be applied to a system for creating one ormore documents relating to tax-exempt sale for a plurality of receiptspurchased in a complex facility having a plurality of stores in thefacility such as a department store and an emporium. In this case,information may be printed on a receipt issued in each store in thecomplex facility such that it is recognized that one or more commoditiesare purchased (the receipt is issued) in a store of the complexfacility. For example, it may be decided in advance to print, on apredetermined position of a receipt, identification information such asa name of the complex facility. Then, the identification information,decided in advance, may be obtained during the scan to determine that areceipt is the receipt purchased in a store of the complex facility.

As for information other than the identification information of thecomplex facility printed on the receipt, information on a descriptionformat (format such as a store name, a date and time, commodities,prices of respective commodities, a total amount, a type of articleinformation, and positions) of receipt decided in each store may bestored in advance. The information for identifying the store such as thestore name may be obtained during the scan. Then, information necessaryfor creating one or more documents for tax exemption may be obtainedbased on the information on the description format corresponding to thestore specified based on the obtained identification information of thestore.

Although the embodiment of the present disclosure is used in a scene ofthe tax exemption application in the above description, this is notintended to limit the applicable scope of the present disclosure to thetax exemption application processing. The embodiment of the presentdisclosure may be applied not only to the tax exemption application butalso to various use scenes. For example, as a preferable use scene, ascan be seen from the tax exemption application processing, theembodiment of the present disclosure may be applied to a scene in whichan owner who has acquired ownership of goods makes an application basedon a cost required for the acquisition.

In the following, a summary of technologies that the embodiment of thepresent disclosure includes is described based on the abovedescriptions. A system structured with one or more apparatuses realizingthe embodiment may include an image obtaining unit that reads a displaymedium, in which a predetermined document (corresponding to the passportin the above described embodiment) is displayed (written), using areading unit such as a scanner and a photographing (imaging) unit. Then,the image obtaining unit obtains an image (in the following, referred toas the “display image”) of contents displayed in the display medium.Here, the display medium is owned by the user, and is not limited to apaper medium such as the current passport. The display medium may be anelectronic paper or a display of a terminal. Further, individualinformation on the user such as the nationality and the passport numberis described in the displayed contents.

Further, the system structured with one or more apparatuses realizingthe embodiment may include a described content recognizing unit thatextracts, from the obtained display image, an image (in the following,referred to as the “extraction image”) of a predetermined extractionarea (corresponding to the position information and the like in theabove described embodiment). Then, the described content recognizingunit recognizes information (corresponding to characters and/or numeralssuch as the passport number and the identification information of thenationality in the above described embodiment, and referred to as the“description information” hereinafter) on described contents describedin the extraction image.

Further, the system structured with one or more apparatuses realizingthe embodiment may include a collation determining unit that determineswhether the obtained description information matches a predeterminedcollation content (corresponding to a value of the identificationinformation of the country in the above described embodiment). Here, thecollation content is set in advance in association with the extractionarea for obtaining the description information to be collated, and thecollation content is collated with the description informationrecognized in the extraction image extracted from the associatedextraction area.

Further, in the system structured with one or more apparatuses realizingthe embodiment, the extraction area of the description informationdesired to be obtained from the display image is set in advance inassociation with the collation content, and the system obtains theextraction image extracted from the display image based on theextraction area associated with the collation content determined to bematched by the collation determining unit. Here, in a case in which aplurality of description information items desired to be obtained arepresent in different areas, a plurality of extraction areas can be setin association with one collation content. Moreover, by settingidentification information items (corresponding to the item names in theabove described embodiment) for identifying the description informationitems in association with the extraction areas, the identificationinformation items can be associated with the description informationitems obtained from the respective extraction areas. Here, thedescription information items desired to be obtained are individualinformation items (corresponding to the nationality, the passportnumber, and the like in the above described embodiment) on the user.

Further, the system structured with one or more apparatuses realizingthe embodiment may include a display language specifying unit thatspecifies, based on language designation information that designates alanguage, the language to be used to display information on a displayscreen. The language designation information is set in advance inassociation with the collation content, and is associated with thecollation content determined to be matched. Here, it is not required todisplay all contents in the display screen in the specified language.However, as for at least a portion of the contents, description contentsdescribed in the specified language are displayed. Especially, becausethe language is specified from the document that the user owns, thecontents described in the specified language are displayed when thedisplay screen to be operated by the user, who owns the document, isdisplayed.

Further, the system structured with one or more apparatuses realizingthe embodiment may include an input information obtaining unit thatobtains information input (entered) by the user, who owns the document,via the display screen in which information is described in thespecified language.

Further, the system structured with one or more apparatuses realizingthe embodiment may include a history information obtaining unit thatobtains history information from a recording medium (corresponding tothe receipt or the POS register 2 in the above described embodiment) inwhich the history information is recorded. The history informationrelates to a history of actions (corresponding to purchase actions ofthe commodities by the purchaser in the above described embodiment) ofthe user, and includes values (corresponding to the unit prices, thequantities, and the total price in the above described embodiment) forone or more respective items (corresponding to the commodities in theabove described embodiment) in which names are described. Further, thehistory information includes information that specifies a location(corresponding to the store in the above described embodiment) where theuser has acted, and information on a date and time when the user hasacted.

Further, the system structured with one or more apparatuses realizingthe embodiment may include a classification specifying unit thatspecifies, for each of one or more items included in the obtainedhistory information, a classification into which a name of an item isclassified among a plurality of classifications (corresponding to thegeneral commodity, the consumable commodity, and a commodity except forthe general commodity and the consumable commodity in the abovedescribed embodiment). Here, as an example of the method for specifyingthe classification, a method may be used to register in advanceclassifications in accordance with names of all items having possibilityto be recorded in the history, and based on this, specifyingclassifications in accordance with the respective items recorded in thehistory information.

Further, the system structured with one or more apparatuses realizingthe embodiment may include a calculating unit that calculates a totalvalue (corresponding to the total amount (price) in the above describedembodiment) based on numerical values for one or more items specified asthe same classification. Further, the calculating unit can receivenumerical values to the respective items or revision to the calculatedtotal value, and can update the total value.

Further, the system structured with one or more apparatuses realizingthe embodiment may include a numerical condition determining unit thatdetermines whether the total value satisfies one or more predeterminednumerical conditions (corresponding to one or more tax exemptionconditions (10,001 Japanese yen or more, or 1,000,001 Japanese yen ormore for a total amount of general commodities, between 5,001 and500,000 Japanese yen for a total amount of consumable commodities) inthe above described embodiment). Further, the one or more numericalconditions can be set in accordance with the classifications, and it canbe determined whether a total value calculated for a classificationsatisfies a numerical condition set for the classification. Further, aplurality of numerical conditions can be set for one classification, anddetermination can be made for the respective conditions.

Further, the system structured with one or more apparatuses realizingthe embodiment may include an output control unit that controls whetherto execute printing (printout) based on the determination result of thenumerical condition(s). Further, the system structured with one or moreapparatuses realizing the embodiment may include a storage control unitcontrols whether to execute processing for storing the obtained displayimage based on the determination result. Further, the system structuredwith one or more apparatuses realizing the embodiment may include anitem selecting unit. In a case in which the printing cannot be executedbased on the determination result, the item selecting unit displays, anitem selection screen for selecting, from one or more items relating tothe calculation of the total value, one or more items (in the following,referred to as the “calculation exclusion items”) to be excluded fromobjects of the calculation of the total value. In other words, theselected calculation exclusion items are not used to calculate the totalvalue. After the selection, the numerical condition determining unitdetermines whether a total value, calculated by excluding thecalculation exclusion item(s) from the one or more items relating to thecalculation of the total value, satisfies the numerical condition(s).Based on this determination result, the output control unit can controlwhether to execute the printing (printout).

Further, the system structured with one or more apparatuses realizingthe embodiment may include a print data creating unit. In a case inwhich the printing is executed based on the determination result, theprint data creating unit creates print data based on prestored formatdata. Here, format data corresponding to each of a plurality oflanguages is stored, and format data of a language of the languagedesignation information associated with the collation content determinedto be matched is used to create the print data. This is because theuser, who owns the document, fills in a sheet on which the print data isprinted. Further, the print data creating unit creates the print databased on the obtained description information. Further, the print datacreating unit creates the print data based on the obtained historyinformation.

<Correspondence of Terms in Claims and Terms in the Embodiment>

The image obtaining unit 302 is an example of an “image obtaining unit”.The area/character recognition unit 303 is an example of an “imagestoring unit”. Here, storing images may include storage on a temporarymemory in the course of processing and permanent recording (such as apredetermined time period history) in a HDD or the like. The printprocessing unit 311 is an example of a “printing unit”. The documentcreation unit 309 or the print processing unit 311 is an example of a“determining unit”.

It should be noted that the above described system according to theembodiment may be realized by a device memory, which stores at least oneprogram, and at least one processor, which executes the at least oneprogram to execute the creation processing for creating documents asdescribed in the embodiment. In other words, a tax-exempt sale documentcreating system or tax-exempt sale document creating system for creatingone or more documents for tax-exempt sale may be realized by the devicememory and the at least one processor, for example. For example, thedevice memory and the at least one processor can implement functions asdescribed in the embodiment and may be implemented by hardware elementsas described in the embodiment.

The present disclosure can be implemented in any convenient form, forexample using dedicated hardware, or a mixture of dedicated hardware andsoftware. The present disclosure may be implemented as computer softwareimplemented by one or more networked processing apparatuses. The networkcan comprise any conventional terrestrial or wireless communicationsnetwork, such as the Internet. The processing apparatuses can compromiseany suitably programmed apparatuses such as a general purpose computer,personal digital assistant, mobile telephone (such as a WAP or3G-compliant phone) and so on. Because the present disclosure can beimplemented as software, each and every aspect of the present disclosurethus encompasses computer software implementable on a programmabledevice. The computer software can be provided to the programmable deviceusing any storage medium for storing processor readable code such as afloppy disk, hard disk, CD ROM, magnetic tape device or solid statememory device.

The hardware platform includes any desired kind of hardware resourcesincluding, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a random accessmemory (RAM), and a hard disk drive (HDD). The CPU may be implemented byany desired kind of any desired number of processor. For example, theCPU may be implemented by one or more processors. The RAM may beimplemented by any desired kind of volatile or non-volatile memory. TheHDD may be implemented by any desired kind of non-volatile memorycapable of storing a large amount of data. The hardware resources mayadditionally include an input device, an output device, or a networkdevice, depending on the type of the apparatus. Alternatively, the HDDmay be provided outside of the apparatus as long as the HDD isaccessible. In this example, the CPU, such as a cache memory of the CPU,and the RAM may function as a physical memory or a primary memory of theapparatus, while the HDD may function as a secondary memory of theapparatus.”

Further, the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments, butvarious variations and modifications may be made without departing fromthe scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A tax-exempt sale document creating systemcomprising: a device memory configured to store at least one program;and at least one processor configured to execute the at least oneprogram to execute creation processing, wherein the creation processingincludes: obtaining an image of a passport or a qualification documentthat indicates a qualification for entering a country, and an image of areceipt printed when one or more commodities are purchased; storing theimage of the passport or the qualification document and the image of thereceipt and classifying the image of the passport or the qualificationdocument and the image of the receipt; printing, on a passport area ofone or more documents for tax-exempt sale, the image of the passport orthe qualification document; and printing, on a receipt area of the oneor more documents for the tax-exempt sale, the image of the receipt onwhich image processing is performed so as to fit the image of thereceipt in the receipt area.
 2. The tax-exempt sale document creatingsystem according to claim 1, wherein, in a case where a size of theimage of the receipt exceeds a predetermined threshold, the imageprocessing is performed to divide and/or reduce the image of thereceipt.
 3. The tax-exempt sale document creating system according toclaim 2, wherein the creation processing includes changing thepredetermined threshold in accordance with a font size of the receipt.4. The tax-exempt sale document creating system according to claim 1,wherein one sheet feeding cassette is selected, in accordance with alayout of the one or more documents for the tax-exempt sale to beprinted, from a plurality of sheet feeding cassettes, in which aplurality of kinds of sheets are set, to print the one or more documentsfor the tax-exempt sale, and wherein each of the plurality of kinds ofsheets has perforations between a part to be handed to a purchaser and apart to be stored at a store.
 5. The tax-exempt sale document creatingsystem according to claim 1, wherein, in a case where a size of theimage of the receipt exceeds a second threshold, the image processing isperformed to divide the image of the receipt, and wherein, in a casewhere the size of the image of the receipt exceeds a first threshold,which is less than the second threshold, but does not exceed the secondthreshold, the image processing is performed to reduce the image of thereceipt.
 6. The tax-exempt sale document creating system according toclaim 5, wherein, in a case where the size of the image of the receiptdoes not exceed the first threshold, the image of the receipt is printedwithout changing the size of the image of the receipt.
 7. A tax-exemptsale document creating apparatus comprising: a device memory configuredto store at least one program; and at least one processor configured toexecute the at least one program to execute creation processing, whereinthe creation processing includes: obtaining an image of a passport or aqualification document that indicates a qualification for entering acountry, and an image of a receipt printed when one or more commoditiesare purchased; storing the image of the passport or the qualificationdocument and the image of the receipt and classifying the image of thepassport or the qualification document and the image of the receipt;printing, on a passport area of one or more documents for tax-exemptsale, the image of the passport or the qualification document; andprinting, on a receipt area of the one or more documents for thetax-exempt sale, the image of the receipt on which image processing isperformed so as to fit the image of the receipt in the receipt area. 8.The tax-exempt sale document creating apparatus according to claim 7,wherein, in a case where a size of the image of the receipt exceeds apredetermined threshold, the image processing is performed to divideand/or reduce the image of the receipt.
 9. The tax-exempt sale documentcreating apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the creation processingincludes changing the predetermined threshold in accordance with a fontsize of the receipt.
 10. The tax-exempt sale document creating apparatusaccording to claim 7, wherein one sheet feeding cassette is selected, inaccordance with a layout of the one or more documents for the tax-exemptsale to be printed, from a plurality of sheet feeding cassettes, inwhich a plurality of kinds of sheets are set, to print the one or moredocuments for the tax-exempt sale, and wherein each of the plurality ofkinds of sheets has perforations between a part to be handed to apurchaser and a part to be stored at a store.
 11. The tax-exempt saledocument creating apparatus according to claim 7, wherein, in a casewhere a size of the image of the receipt exceeds a second threshold, theimage processing is performed to divide the image of the receipt, andwherein, in a case where the size of the image of the receipt exceeds afirst threshold, which is less than the second threshold, but does notexceed the second threshold, the image processing is performed to reducethe image of the receipt.
 12. The tax-exempt sale document creatingapparatus according to claim 11, wherein, in a case where the size ofthe image of the receipt does not exceed the first threshold, the imageof the receipt is printed without changing the size of the image of thereceipt.
 13. A tax-exempt sale document creating method comprising:obtaining an image of a passport or a qualification document thatindicates a qualification for entering a country, and an image of areceipt printed when one or more commodities are purchased; storing theimage of the passport or the qualification document and the image of thereceipt and classifying the image of the passport or the qualificationdocument and the image of the receipt; printing, on a passport area ofone or more documents for tax-exempt sale, the image of the passport orthe qualification document; and printing, on a receipt area of the oneor more documents for the tax-exempt sale, the image of the receipt onwhich image processing is performed so as to fit the image of thereceipt in the receipt area.
 14. The tax-exempt sale document creatingmethod according to claim 13, wherein, in a case where a size of theimage of the receipt exceeds a predetermined threshold, the imageprocessing is performed to divide and/or reduce the image of thereceipt.
 15. The tax-exempt sale document creating method according toclaim 14, further comprising: changing the predetermined threshold inaccordance with a font size of the receipt.
 16. The tax-exempt saledocument creating method according to claim 13, wherein one sheetfeeding cassette is selected, in accordance with a layout of the one ormore documents for the tax-exempt sale to be printed, from a pluralityof sheet feeding cassettes, in which a plurality of kinds of sheets areset, to print the one or more documents for the tax-exempt sale, andwherein each of the plurality of kinds of sheets has perforationsbetween a part to be handed to a purchaser and a part to be stored at astore.
 17. The tax-exempt sale document creating method according toclaim 13, wherein, in a case where a size of the image of the receiptexceeds a second threshold, the image processing is performed to dividethe image of the receipt, and wherein, in a case where the size of theimage of the receipt exceeds a first threshold, which is less than thesecond threshold, but does not exceed the second threshold, the imageprocessing is performed to reduce the image of the receipt.
 18. Thetax-exempt sale document creating method according to claim 17, wherein,in a case where the size of the image of the receipt does not exceed thefirst threshold, the image of the receipt is printed without changingthe size of the image of the receipt.